Arthritis - CBD (Cannabidiol) Health Benefits

Can CBD aid arthritic sufferers...

Arthritis affects well over 10 million people in the UK! It effects young and old people alike although older people are more prone to suffering from it. Arthritis is a musculoskeletal condition which falls into 2 main groups:

Osteoarthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis

The symptoms of arthritis can vary but the most common ones are:

Joint pain, tenderness and stiffness
Inflammation in and around the joints
Restricted movement of the joints
Warm, red skin over the affected joint
Weakness and muscle wasting

Can CBD (Cannabidiol) help people with arthritis...

A study in 2006 was conducted to see if ‘Sativex’ (CBD / THC spray) had any effect on patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. The results of the study showed that CBD had can have a massive positive effect:

Current medication for arthritis....

Currently there is no cure for arthritis and the best the medical community can do is offer drugs that can ease the pain (Analgesics) and drugs that can slow the progression of the disease. These drugs are called ‘Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs (DMARDs)’, DMARDs can slow the progression of rheumatoid arthritis.

However in 2014 a pre-clinical study showed that the Endocannabinoid System could play a large role in the treatment of Osteoarthritis:

“...promising results that have been recently obtained in support of the therapeutic value of cannabinoids for osteoarthritis management...” Click here to read more..

In fact a lot of studies are now showing that CBD (Cannabidiol) can, and does, have a large positive effect on arthritis in both areas of:

Pain relief
Joint repair

To highlight the above check out this study by Dr. Sheng-Ming Dai of China’s Second Military Medical University where he states that by activating the cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2R), through the use of cannabidiol, helps fight joint inflammation.

Dr. Jason McDougall, who is a professor of pharmacology and anesthesia at Dalhousie University in Halifax stated in an interview:

“The nerves are like wires that have been stripped of their coating. They’re all bare, they’re all raw and responsible for feeling a lot of pain. What we hypothesize is that by locally administering these cannabis-like molecules to those nerves, we’d actually be able to repair them and reduce the pain of arthritis.”

Watch a video of Dr. Jason McDougall discusses questions around CBD and what it means for people living with arthritis

Conclusion
With all the recent studies and results its clear to see that CBD does in fact have a positive effect on arthritis and it looks like we will be seeing a large increase in arthritic patients using CBD not just for pain relief and good sleep but possibly as an aid to nerve repair.

CBD Specifics

Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of at least 113 active cannabinoids identified in the cannabis plant. It is a major phytocannabinoid, accounting for up to 40% of the plant's extract.